Packing wedge

ABSTRACT

An agitator for a top loading clothes washing machine is rigidified and protected from damage during shipment by a plurality of foamed plastic elongate members which are arranged radially about the agitator and which engage the more peripheral portions of the washing machine and their outer ends. The member includes an outer end which defines a wedge which may be forced between the basket of the washing machine and the housing. The upper, housing engaging surface is formed in a manner which interlocks positively with the washing machine and the inner end of the member includes means to facilitate breaking off a selected length at its inner end to fit the radius of the particular machine.

United States Patent [1 1 Collin Jan. 21, 1975 PACKING WEDGE [76] Inventor: Herbert S. Collin, c/o Collin Box &

Supply Company, 56 Bristol St., I Iew t9n, Mass. 021 18 [22] Filed: June 18, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 370,973

' s2 u.s. Cl. 206/320, 68/3 R [51] Int. Cl B65d-85/00 [58] Field of Search 206/320, 523; 217/35, 52; 229/l4 C; 68/3 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,057,459 10/1962 Burdick 206/83 3,812,959 5/1974 Brennan 206/320 Primary ExaminerWilliam 1. Price Assistant Examiner-Steven M. Pollard Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Arthur Z. Bookstein; Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks [57] ABSTRACT An agitator for a top loading clothes washing machine is rigidified and protected from damage during shipment by a plurality of foamed plastic elongate members which are arranged radially about the agitator and which engage the more peripheral portions of the washing machine and their outer ends. The member includes an outer end which defines a wedge which may be forced between the basket of the washing machine and the housing. The upper, housing engaging surface is formed in a manner which interlocks positively with the washing machine and the inner end of I the member includes means to facilitate breaking off a selected length at its inner end to fit the radius of the particular machine.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PACKING WEDGE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a bracing device for rigidify- DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 2 and 3 show the invention which preferably ing clothes washer agitators, particularly during ship- 5 may be formed from a foamed light weight, rigid plastic ment. The invention, however, also may be employed to rigidify other items during shipping where the items and their packages lend themselves to the use of the invention. A number of devices and techniques for bracing washing machine agitators and the like have been proposed in the prior art. One such arrangement is fabricated from a plurality of successively smaller lengths of corrugated cardboard which are laminated one against the other to provide an elongate member having a series of step-like surfaces which extend along the length of the member to define a wedge-like arrangement. This prior device is of limited effectiveness in that it may sometimes tend to work loose because its construction does not grip the engaged portions of the washing machine sufficiently. In addition, the cardboard device is subject to the effects of moisture which materially reduces its effectiveness. Moreover, where it is intended for use with washing machines of various manufacturers, which vary as to size, the prior art device does not operate effectively with the various range of sizes. It is among the objects of my invention to provide an improved wedging member which avoids the foregoing difficulties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION My invention includes a one-piece foamed plastic elongate member which is substantially flat on its bottom and has an outward end at which the upper surface is inclined to define a wedge-like member at the outer end which can be wedged between the members to be rigiditied by urging the elongate member longitudinally between them. The upper wedge surface is formed to define a plurality of transverse slots which are longitudinally spaced along the member which function to engage in a positive interlocking grip one of the members to be rigiditied, such as the washing machine housing. The other, inner end of the member is provided with a plurality of transverse longitudinally spaced score lines or serrations which enable selected lengths of the end of the member to be broken away to vary the length of the member and provide a more accurate fit.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide an improved wedging device for rigidifying normally movable articles during shipment.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wedging device of the type described which engages the article in a firm interlocking and positive grip.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wedging device of the type described in which its length can be varied easily to accommodate varying requirements of the articles being rigiditied.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will be understood more fully from the following detailed description thereof, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an illustrative example of the manner in which the wedging device maybe used to rigidify the agitator of a washing machine.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the wedgingdevice; and

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the wedgingdevice.

material such as foamed or expanded polyethylene, polystyrene or polyurethane. The device is of elongate shape and has a flat bottom surface 10. The upper surface 12 is formed, at one end (the outer end) of the member at an upward inclination to define a wedgelike contour 14 in cooperation with the corresponding end of the bottom surface 10. The upper surface at the other end (the inner end) of the device is flat and may, if desired extend parallel to the bottom surface 10. In the embodiment shown, the wedge portion of the upper surface 12 may terminate and merge with the flat, parallel portion 16 of the upper surface approximately at the midportion of the member. It should be noted, however, that the wedge may extend almost fully to the other end of the member if this would be more suited to the particular application.

The wedge-shaped end of the member facilitates its firm insertion between a pair of members to be rigidified by permitting insertion of the wedge between the members until they firmly engage the members. In order to reduce any tendency for the wedge to become displaced, as is not uncommon with some prior devices,

the upper inclined surface 18 of the device isformed to define a plurality of transverse grooves 20, longitudinally spaced along the inclined surface 18. As suggested in FIG. 1, the grooves are particularly useful when rigidifying the agitator 22 of a washing machine in that they permit the wedge to be forced between the basket 24 and the lip 26 of the housing 28 of the machine until the lip firmly and snugly engages one of the grooves 20. This provides a firm mechanical interlock of the wedge with the machine in addition to providing the wedge action. A plurality of such braces may be fitted in a radial spoke-like array, about the agitator of the washing machine.

If desired, the transverse slots 20 in the upper inclined surface 18 may be extended at their ends downwardly along the side walls of the member as suggested in phantom at 30 in the drawings. While the additional slots 30 formed in the side walls usually will not be required for use as a washing machine brace, they do enhance the versatility of the invention in that the side slots 30 may be employed when rigidifying other types of products which have surfaces, lips, corners or the like which could engage the side slots 30.

The versatility of the invention is enhanced still furi ther by enabling its length to be varied so that it may be used more effectively in a wider variety of environments. For this purpose, the other (inner) end of the member is provided with a plurality of parallel score lines or grooves 32 spaced longitudinally of the member to enable selected portions of that end to be manually broken away. The break-away grooves 32 preferably extend both along the upper surface of the member and the side walls. If desired, they may also extend along the bottom wall as suggested in phantom in the drawings.

As suggested in FIG. I, the invention may be used with a washing machine in the following manner. The user first determines the approximate length required, radially, between the agitator brace 22 and the machine basket 24 and housing 28. He may then, if he deems it preferable, break away a portion of the inner end of the member along one of the score lines 32. The wedge end of the member then is urged radially between the basket and the housing 28 until a snug interlocking engagement is felt. The other end then is pressed downwardly against the side of the agitator as suggested in FIG. 1. In this regard, it should be noted that the material from which the member is formed is relatively crushable although it does have some resilience. For example, I have found that a foam made from two pound polystyrene beads provides a sufficient degree of crushability. It should be selected from a material which will enable the inner agitator engaging end of the member to bear firmly against the agitator. After the first brace has been placed, one or more additional braces similarly are placed about the agitator in a radial configuration.

Other foam plastic materials having somewhat different properties may be employed, depending on the intended use. For example, it may be fabricated from foam polyurethane or foam polyethylene should the intended use require a more flexible, resilient device.

It should be understood that the foregoing description of the invention is intended merely to be illutrative thereof and that other embodiments and modifications may be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from its spirit.

Having thus described the invention what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A bracing device comprising:

an elongate member formed from a relatively rigid foamed plastic material, said member having a substantially flat bottom wall, side walls. a top wall and inner and outer ends;

said top wall of said member having a portion thereof extending from an end of said member and which lies substantially in a plane which defines a wedge in cooperation with said bottom wall of said member at that end thereof; and

means forming a plurality of transverse, longitudinally spaced grooves along said portion of said top wall of said member.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 further comprising:

' the other end of said member having at least one score line extending transversely to the longitudinal dimension of said member and being formed at least at the top wall and side walls thereof to define a break-away line.

3. A device as defined in claim 2 further comprising:

a plurality of said score lines longitudinally spaced along said member.

4. A device as defined in claim 3 further comprising:

said portion of said top wall extending from said end thereof to approximately the midportion of said member, the remaining region of said top wall of said member being substantially flat and paralleling the bottom wall of said member.

5. A device as defined in claim 1 further comprising:

means forming continuations of said transverse grooves heightwise along the side walls of said 

1. A bracing device comprising: an elongate member formed from a relatively rigid foamed plastic material, said member having a substantially flat bottom wall, side walls, a top wall and inner and outer ends; said top wall of said member having a portion thereof extending from an end of said member and which lies substantially in a plane which defines a wedge in cooperation with said bottom wall of said member at that end thereof; and means forming a plurality of transverse, longitudinally spaced grooves along said portion of said top wall of said member.
 2. A device as defined in claim 1 further comprising: the other end of said member having at least one score line extending transversely to the longitudinal dimension of said member and being formed at least at the top wall and side walls thereof to define a break-away line.
 3. A device as defined in claim 2 further comprising: a plurality of said score lines longitudinally spaced along said member.
 4. A device as defined in claim 3 further comprising: said portion of said top wall extending from said end thereof to approximately the midportion of said member, the remaining region of said top wall of said member being substantially flat and paralleling the bottom wall of said member.
 5. A device as defined in claim 1 further comprising: means forming continuations of said transverse grooves heightwise along the side walls of said member. 